NASA New Instrument Developed to Investigate Venus' Mysterious Atmosphere

Scientists and space explorations have been looking forward to understanding more about Venus. With records indicating the difficulty of studying and observing the said planet, scientists have been on the quest to know more. Recently, they developed a new instrument that could provide detailed information about Venus.

According to NASA's Solar System Exploration website, Venus is often called the twin of the Earth and is located the closest to the planet, noting that both appear to have the same density and size.

NASA explained that Venus was one of the successful planets that NASA's spacecraft managed to explore in December 1962.

Mysterious planet

(Photo : by SDO/NASA via Getty Images)

Moreover, the report showed Venus had a toxic, cloud-based atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide. It added that sulfuric acid's yellowish clouds help to trap the heat that allows the greenhouse effect to escape.

Ultimately, Venus is considered one of the hottest planets, which recorded a whopping 900 degrees Fahrenheit surface temperatures.

On the other hand, scientists have been aiming to unlock the mysteries in Venus' atmosphere as a close neighbor of Earth.

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According to the article, scientist and VASI instrument science lead Ralph Lorenz explained that Venus' atmosphere seems to have big puzzles.

Lorenz added that the instrument or DAVINCI would help to provide the missing pieces by measuring the planet's composition, pressure, and temperature. Lorenz is also from Johns Hopkins - Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland.

VASI instrument

The VASI instrument is also called the Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation in NASA's DAVINCI ( NASA's Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging). The instrument aims to observe Venu's atmosphere with other NASA advanced equipment.

According to the science lead, Lorenzo explained that it is important to know about the volcanic activity or if it is still active on Venus. Most importantly, it would explore how volcanoes managed to interact with the Venu's atmosphere.

With the instruments, it could generate accurate data for analysis. The article pointed out that NASA's instruments were made like a submarine in construction because the planet records high surface temperatures.

The article added that the VASI instrument's sensors and housings were assembled by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The report pointed out that the VASI instrument would record Venus' atmosphere using an advanced temperature sensor present in a thin metal cube.

The instrument will also record by measuring the atmospheric pressure on the planet with a so-called small silicon membrane.
Ultimately, the VASI instrument will measure Venu's wind speed and direction using accelerometers and gyroscopes.

Lorenz added that Venus was hard because of the conditions on the planet, giving extra toll for engineers to create instruments that could withstand the Venu's surface temperatures.

Studying Venus as the closes neighbor of Earth could pave away discoveries beneficial to Earth and potential life on the said planet. Despite the harsh conditions and high surface temperatures, scientists have been hoping to unveil new knowledge about the said planet.